Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 54 Entering Beijing to Replace Job ([-])

"Master, the shopkeeper is out to see him, and he seems to be bringing some guests with him."

When Jiang Dazhong came in to report, Huang Laifu was carefully studying "Records of Military Training" written by General Qi Jiguang in the study of Qianhu's house.

Although the civil servants of the Ministry of War at this time only required the military officers to be proficient in bows and horses, the generals were not required to have the strategic ability to lead the soldiers and plan strategies.But Huang Laifu came from later generations, so of course he wouldn't be fooled by them, so these days, besides practicing bow and horse martial arts every day, he just read this book of war written by Grandpa Qi repeatedly.

In fact, when Qi Jiguang's "Records of Military Training" was published in 1571, which collected military achievements over hundreds of years and influenced countless military strategists in later generations, it received widespread attention from the world. At that time, there were many printed copies circulating in the Ming Dynasty. There are collections at home, and my father Huang Sihao also collected one in fashion.The engraved copy in Huang Laifu's hands is the 1585 edition.

And this generation of famous generals had passed away on January 1588, 1. After a moment of silence for the Ming army god, Huang Laifu put down his books and said to Jiang Dazhong: "Let them wait in the living room, and I will come out immediately. "

Jiang Dazhong responded, turned around and left.

Huang Laifu changed his clothes, came to the main room, and saw Qu Yuanrui sitting with two businessmen, one old and one young.Seeing Huang Laifu coming out, all three of them stood up.

Huang Laifu smiled sharply at Qu Yuan: "Zhi Xin, you are not staying at the Qixian Guild Hall, how come you have time to come to my place today?"

Qu Yuanrui forced a smile, and cupped his hands to Huang Laifu, saying: "Young Master, Yuanrui took the liberty of visiting today, but he had something to discuss with you." He pointed at the two businessmen and said, "Let me introduce you, Young Master. This is Jia Yan, and this is my elder brother Qu Liangwan. Father, elder brother, this is the young master Huang Laifu from Qianhuzhai. Come and pay your respects."

Qu Tingzhu moved his fat body with some difficulty, adjusted his clothes slightly, bowed his hands, and laughed in an old voice: "The old man has seen the young master Huang Laifu, and he hastily paid homage to him, and he is working and living. I beg and blame the old man for his abrupt behavior crime."

Qu Liangwan also hurriedly followed behind his father to greet Huang Laifu.The two looked at Huang Laifu carefully, and saw that although he was young, he looked shrewd, which was not at all in line with the image of a rough military household they had imagined, so they couldn't help being surprised.

Huang Laifu smiled and said: "The old shopkeeper Qu is very polite. Zhixin and I have always been close and friendly. The two of you Lao came not far away. They are full of splendor. Please sit down."

Qu Tingzhu saluted again, and said with a smile: "Thank you, thank you." Turning around, he told the two servants beside him: "Bring up all the presents."

Then I saw two servants from the Qu family carrying several gift boxes up, and opened the silk curtain, and saw that there were bundles of high-quality silk inside, and each bundle was a good product. I'm afraid it's only available in the south of the Yangtze River. Presumably, mother and sisters must be happy to see you.

Huang Laifu took the gift list from Yang Xiaolu, and did a quick calculation. The total value of these silks and silks was almost a hundred taels, which made Huang Laifu secretly think that the old man was rich and powerful.Sure enough, the father and the son shot differently.

Qu Tingzhu secretly observed Huang Laifu's face, and smiled with satisfaction at this moment, and said: "It's a little bit of courtesy, please don't despise it."

Huang Laifu said: "Zhixin is close to me, why should the old shopkeeper be so polite." He told Yang Xiaolu to put away the gift.

Several people also gave way to sit, and the host and guest sat down separately.

Huang Laifu said to Qu Yuanrui: "By the way, Zhixin, you just said that you have something to discuss with me, what is it?"

Qu Yuanrui said with a low expression: "You are such a young master. Yuanrui deeply feels that he has little talent and morality, and cannot afford to eat all the surplus food that the young master gave him. After repeated thinking, he decided to give my elder brother [-]% of the food. , so as not to miss the matter of the elder and younger. I came today to discuss this matter with the elder and younger."

Huang Laifu said "Oh" in surprise, and carefully looked at Qu Yuanrui's expression, seeing that he was downcast, with a look of grief and resentment, but also a little helpless, and looking at his elder brother Qu Liangwan, he was faintly proud .Looking at the old man Qu Tingzhu, he is stroking his beard calmly and calmly.

Huang Laifu got up and paced slowly. After walking a few steps, he turned his head and looked at Qu Tingzhu with sharp eyes. During this time, he already understood the reason, but it was another brother's fight, and The old father is partial to the eldest son, and he has seen many such things in later generations.

He smiled and sat back in his seat.Qu Tingzhu said with a chuckle: "Young Master, Yuan Rui is still young after all, and his work is too frivolous. Old man Xin Hao noticed it and came up with this remedy. Don't worry, Young Master, you will help him. I will definitely not miss a lot of things."

Hearing what his father said, Qu Yuanrui looked a little unconvinced, but he opened his mouth, but he didn't speak in the end.

Huang Laifu's face slowly darkened, and he said to Qu Yuanrui: "Zhixin, I believed in your character at that time, and I was grateful for your kindness, so I shared the burden of exporting the grain with you. What's the point of breaking the contract and breaking the promise?"

Qu Yuanrui was stunned for a moment, then he secretly rejoiced, with a tongue-tied expression on his face, and said: "Young Master, I...I...I didn't mean that."

Huang Laifu said again: "Zhi Xin, tell me, what is the most important thing for you businessmen to do?"

Qu Yuanrui said with a heavy face, "You must keep your promises."

Huang Laifu said: "That's right. At that time, we were in black and white. The contract was clearly written. If one party breaks the contract, he has to compensate the other party for double the losses. Are you considering breaking the contract?"

Qu Yuanrui was secretly happy in his heart, but on his face he kept saying in fear, "I don't dare to believe it, I dare not believe it!" Qu Tingzhu saw that the situation took a turn for the worse, and hurriedly said: "Young master, that's not what we meant? Please don't get me wrong."

But Qu Liangwan stepped forward and said, "Young Master, Yuan Rui has already agreed, so why are you sticking to it? Besides, you won't lose a tael of silver at that time, as the saying goes..."

Huang Laifu turned his head to face him, frowned, Yang Xiaolu stepped forward and shouted: "Presumptuous, this is a house of thousands of households, how can you talk to the young master in such a tone?"

Qu Liangwan was so angry that his nose turned crooked all of a sudden. Although he was a merchant, because he was a big grain merchant, many generals in border towns were polite to him. No matter where he went, he was always flattered by others. , how have you ever been so angry?

He was about to argue, but Qu Tingzhu hurriedly stopped him: "Liang Wan, don't be rude in front of the young and old." Qu Liangwan backed away angrily.

Huang Laifu also said to Yang Xiaolu: "Hey, donkey, don't be rude to the guests, you can retreat." Yang Xiaolu also retreated.

Huang Laifu said to Qu Tingzhu: "Old shopkeeper Qu, I'm sorry that Huang is such a straightforward person. People say that a gentleman is as good as his promise, and although he can't be called a gentleman, he takes the word honesty very seriously! Besides! , I don’t think there is any problem with Zhixin’s ability, and I can trust him in the export of grain in the future.”

Qu Tingzhu chuckled, with a slightly embarrassed look on his face.He looked at Huang Laifu carefully again, thinking that he had underestimated this soldier, this Huang Laifu insisted on keeping the promise, as a businessman, he should keep the promise, so it is not good to say anything else.

Huang Laifu took a sip of tea, relaxed the atmosphere, and said with a smile: "Of course, there are other solutions. Next year, Wuzhaibao will vigorously reclaim wasteland and build many industries. You are welcome to invest, ah."

Qu Tingzhu had no choice but to say yes again and again, while Qu Liangwan sat aside and sulked.Qu Yuanrui looked calm on the surface, but actually he was smiling inside.

Qu Tingzhu said: "I heard that the young master will go to Beijing to replace his post in June, and he must pass by Taiyuan. The old man happens to be in a mansion in Taiyuan. I wonder if he can welcome the young master at that time." Taiyuan is the capital of Shanxi, so naturally It is the key business area of ​​the Qu family, so it is not surprising to have his own mansion there.

Huang Laifu said with a smile: "The old shopkeeper Qu is very polite, I will definitely pay a visit at that time."

After everyone said a few more words, Huang Laifu raised the teacup in front of him and said, "Tea please."

Immediately, Yang Xiaolu behind Huang Laifu shouted loudly, "Seeing off the guests!"

Although Qu Tingzhu and Qu Liangwan were unwilling, they had no choice but to get up and leave.

Qu Yuanrui was at the end, seeing his father and brother leaving, he gratefully said to Huang Laifu: "Thank you for your kindness, Young Master."

Huang Laifu nodded and said: "I am a kind person. You helped me at that time, and I will never forget it. There are some things that you don't want to say. I will do it for this villain. You won't blame me, will you?"

Qu Yuanrui made a deep bow, and said, "I can only believe in gratitude."

Looking at the back of Qu Yuanrui leaving, Huang Laifu smiled at Yang Xiaolu: "By the way, Xiaolu, take those silks to my mother. I think she will be happy to see her sisters." Yang Xiaolu responded with a grin.

Qu Tingzhu and Qu Liangwan didn't know how they got out of here. What happened today was really a mess.When he reached the gate of Qianhu's house, Qu Tingzhu stopped in his tracks. He was speechless for a long time, and then he choked out a sentence: "Is this Huang Laifu really only 18 years old?"

※※※

March 1590, 6 AD.

The emergence rate of spring wheat on various farms in Wuzhaibao reaches [-]%, and [-]% of the spring wheat is growing in good condition.Compared with the emergence rate of two or three forts outside Wuzhai Fort, this result has once again caused a sensation.

Many people from Minbao and other places went to see the fields of various farms in Wuzhaibao, especially those irrigation wells and waterwheels, which attracted widespread attention.When the wells and waterwheels appeared at that time, if some households were still on the sidelines and skeptical, now no one has any doubts.Many regret why they didn't make some waterwheels earlier, so that the growth of wheat seedlings is extremely bad now.

Huang Laifu doesn't care about the tide of "visiting and investigation" of people from other places. The large farms he manages rely on large-scale operations and irrigation systems. The way of operation is also unable to compete with our own large farm system. Moreover, it is one thing for these households to afford these waterwheels and other things. Advantage.

Besides, Huang Laifu was also very happy that his farm would cause changes in the outside world, but relying on his own strength alone was still small. To change the bad agricultural situation in northern Daming at that time, it still needed the flapping of butterfly wings.If there were more large-scale farm-like management methods in the Ming Dynasty and the use of groundwater, perhaps there would be no future tragedies.

After entering June, it was the period of rapid growth of weeds, and the various farms in Wuzhaibao took the time to cultivate, weed, and topdress.

People in minbao all over the country wear straw hats, carry hoes, and weed in the fields.Some places don't even have hoes, and they have to rent them.In the various farms of Wuzhaibao, Huang Laifu generally used a hoe drawn by animal power, called a horse-drawn hoe.

The horse-drawn hoe, mentioned in Liu Xi's "Shiming" in the 2nd century AD, is similar to a plow, but without the plow wall, it has two sharp blades.When pulling the hoe, the two blades travel along both sides of the ridge, so that the weeds on both sides of the ridge can be removed, the irrigation ditch can be deepened, and the soil can be further cultivated around the roots of the crops.

A horse-drawn hoe is several times more efficient than a manual hoe.It took only a few days for the fields of each farm in Wuzhaibao to be weeded and topdressed. This effect made the villagers speechless again.The result of extensive use of "high technology" is the advantages of each farm in Wuzhaibao, which pulls the local villages further and further apart.

The situation is very good, Huang Laifu is also ready to go out.At this time, Huang Sihao's official document has come down. Huang Sihao is retired and enjoys full salary and preferential support. When he gets old, he will be promoted to General Wujie, with a monthly salary of sixteen shi.Of course, it is impossible for Huang Laifu to live on the sixteen stone rice every month.

However, to formally take over the post, you have to report to the capital. Only after you pass the assessment of the Ministry of War can you officially confirm your position.

In the past few days, Huang Laifu was already packing his bags and preparing to leave.

(End of this chapter)